


fancy meeting you here

by thechickandtheduck



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, No SHIELD, give me jemmalance brotp show, no Hydra
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 19:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4448618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thechickandtheduck/pseuds/thechickandtheduck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Leopold Fitz and Jemma Simmons keep running into each other. Maybe the world is trying to tell them something?</p>
            </blockquote>





	fancy meeting you here

_i_

Leopold Fitz had never been one for physical activity. It had always been one of his weakness. However, as he moved through the unfamiliar apartment avoiding people and conversations, he concluded that maybe he had underestimated his own abilities. He was moving almost gracefully between the people, bottle of beer in his hand and eyes focus on the window that led to the fire escape. When he reached it, he climbed outside with much less grace than the one displayed before, but still achieving his goal.

As he looked at the New York’s skyline, he realized that someone was already there. A girl. She was shorter than him, with wavy brown hair, bottle of beer in her hand, too. She was leaning against the railings, watching the city before her. She hadn’t noticed him yet, so he cleared his throat in what he believed was a subtle manner. She turned around immediately, and he realized that she was also a very, very pretty girl. She had big brown eyes and she gave him a sweet smile. “Oh, hello there.” He was surprised to hear she had an English accent. Having lived in New York for the past ten years, it still always surprised him when he met someone from his part of the world.

“Hello,” he answered, perhaps with a tone that was more serious than he intended. He wasn’t very good at meeting new people. She didn’t react in any way to his Scottish accent, but she did seem to notice the seriousness of his tone.

“I could leave, if you were hoping to have a moment to yourself.”

“No, no need to do that, really,” he answered, ashamed. His mom hadn’t raised him to be rude, and he could imagine her scolding at him for his behavior. “I just needed some air.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They stayed silent after that. The girl went back to looking at the lights of the city and Fitz went back to looking at her. He wondered if perhaps he should be the one to just leave.

“Are you a friend of Bobbi’s?” she asked suddenly. He pondered his response. He wasn’t, really. He had just met her today. His friend Mack, who had dragged him to the party in the first place, was the one who was a friend of Bobbi’s.

“I am more of a friend of a friend of Bobbi’s. He kind of dragged me to this party.”

“Oh, you got dragged. Yes, that explains why you’re looking so utterly miserable.”

Fitz was startled by her forwardness and was about to tell her he didn’t care for her rudeness, but when he looked back at her, he could see her giving him a small, teasing smile. He couldn’t help but smile back at her, and his response was filled with less tension than his previous ones. “This is not really my scene,” he admitted.

“You want to know a secret?” she started and when he nodded, she added, “this is not really my scene, either. Hence why I’m hiding here.”

He gave her a tight smile. “Are _you_ a friend of Bobbi’s?”

“Yes, we went to college together. For the most part.”

“For the most part?”

“Yeah, I graduated early.”

That got Fitz attention instantly. “Really? Me too!” he added enthusiastically. “Engineering. You?”

“Biochem,” she answered with a big smile, and Fitz found himself smiling back at her. He already had more in common with her than with anyone else he knew. He wasn’t one to believe in destiny, but the odds of meeting someone like her in a city as big as New York were pretty slim.

“Do you, um, where do you work?” he asked, eager to learn more about this girl.

“I work for Stark Industries, the science department, obviously, you?” He recognized the company immediately. Tony Stark, the owner, was kind of a big shot. Fitz himself had done some freelancing work for the company.  Plus, his friend Skye worked there as IT. The coincidences kept piling up.

“Well, I’m doing a bit of free lancing at the moment. Being my own boss and such. I’ve actually worked with Stark before. I just like to keep my options open.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever tried something like that. Must be sort of fun.”

“Oh, well. I always have fun when I’m working, but I guess I’m comfortable with the freedom freelancing brings. At least for now.”

She nodded at him, something similar to curiosity playing in her eyes, but then she turned around and went off to stare at the city again. He moved towards her slowly and once he reached the railings, he leaned against them. “I’m Fitz, by the way,” he told her quietly.

“Jemma Simmons,” she answered, looking back at him. They smiled at each other for a few seconds, and then, Fitz could hear someone coming through the window towards them.

“Hey Turbo, you ready to go?”

Fitz turned around to find Mack smiling brightly at him. “Told you it would be just a few hours, and I always keep my word,” he said, and, noticing his companion for the first time, he added, “Hey, didn’t see you there. I’m Mack.”

“Hello Mack, I’m Jemma.”

“Oh, the science lady?”

Jemma scrunched her nose at his phrasing, but Fitz knew that Mack didn’t mean any offence by it. He was just big on nicknames.

“Well, as long as we are simplifying things, then yes, I’m the science lady,” Jemma answered, a small smile now gracing her features.

Mack let out a big laugh. “Bobbi’s told me tons about you. It’s nice to finally meet you in the flesh. Sorry I didn’t catch you at the party before.” He turned back to Fitz then, “So, we going or not?”

Fitz hesitated just one second. His conversation with Jemma Simmons seemed to have just began, but in the end, he wasn’t sure he had anything else to say that would be of interest to her. Besides, his conversation with her had already salvaged the whole night for him, better no to get to get greedy, he supposed.

“Yes, ready,” he told Mack and then he turned to Jemma, “It was really nice meeting you.”

She smiled at him and he was again struck by how pretty she was. Her eyes, he noticed now, where more than brown.  “Likewise. You too, Mack.”

He nodded one last time at her and then he followed Mack through the window.

 

_ii_

“I would really love it if you stopped staring at the door everytime someone opened it. Bobbi is not gonna walk through it,” Lance Hunter said, in what Jemma called his “annoyed voice”. He was, in this very specific case, quite right.

“I know. I just feel like I’m cheating on her,” Jemma offered by way of explanation. She was having lunch with Hunter, Bobbi’s ex-husband, at a quiet Chinese restaurant that they frequently visited.

“That’s ridiculous. We all agreed that you were lucky enough to keep both of us in the divorce.”

“I guess I’m just not used to it yet. The divorce, I mean.”

“Please, we’ve been divorced for almost a year now. That’s more than what the marriage lasted.”

Jemma couldn’t help but giggle at that, and Hunter snapped his head back from his plate to look at her.

“Well, that’s rich coming from you, Miss “I won’t be bothered to keep a guy around for more than a few weeks”.

“You just made my point for me. I don’t care for a relationship because I have yet to find a man I find interesting enough to actually try.”

“Bad luck Bobbi snagged me first, right?”

This time Jemma didn’t even try to suppress her laugh. “Oh, you do make me laugh. Thank you.”

They felt into a bit of a silence as they both continued to eat, and Jemma was about to ask Hunter about his new living arrangements (he had recently moved from his apartment after his old roommate had gone _all loco_ \- Hunter’s words, not hers) when a loud voice interrupted them.

“Jemma Simmons!”

Jemma turned around to see Skye, Stark Industries’ IT girl, walking towards her. She noticed, a second later, that trailing behind her was the guy she had met at Bobbi’s party three weeks ago. Fitz, she remembered his name was. Whether it was his name or last name, she hadn’t had time to figure out. She had been a little disappointed when he had just left, as she had thought they could have a lot to talk about. Jemma noticed instantly that he looked uncomfortable and she wondered if it was because of her. He had, during their previous interaction, looked sort of the same way. But he had begun acting more relaxed the more they talked.

“Skye, so nice to see you when my computer is not conspiring against me,” she gave her a small smile, and turned to Fitz, who was looking at her with an impartial expression on his face, “Hello, Fitz, nice to see you again.”

Skye’s eyes widened as her head went back and forth between the two of them. “You two know each other?” she asked, sounding even more excited than before.

“Sort of,” Jemma answered at the same time Fitz said “Maybe.”

“Do tell,” Skye demanded, head still going back and forth between the two of them.

“We, uh, met at a party a few weeks ago,” Jemma said, and turned to Hunter, “at Bobbi’s party, actually.” He scoffed at that and Jemma rolled her eyes. Hunter had not, of course, been invited to that party. But he had spent an awful amount of time asking for details, and when she had relented and told him, he had acted as if he just didn’t care for it at all.

“Oh that party that you were absolutely not interested in attending?” Skye was now asking Fitz. When he nodded, she continued, “Well, it couldn’t have been that bad if Jemma was there.” Skye gave her a big smile and then mock whispered to Fitz, “She is amazing.”

Jemma looked at Fitz then, and she noticed that he continued to look deeply uncomfortable. Maybe this wasn’t his scene, either. Looking for something to make him feel more at ease, she turned to Hunter. "This is Lance Hunter. Hunter, this is Skye, she works with me,” she said, and turning to look briefly at Fitz, she added, “and this is Fitz.” She hesitated for a few seconds, not sure what else to add about Fitz. An acquaintance? But then Skye was talking again, and she didn’t have to think about it anymore.

“Nice to meet you, Lance. So,” she winked at Jemma, “boyfriend?”

“Oh, no, no, no,” Jemma started, but was interrupted by Hunter, “well, you don’t have to sound so offended by it, really.”

Skye was laughing fondly at their antics, as if she had known them for years and was experiencing this for the thousand time. But Fitz, Jemma noticed, Fitz was looking right at her. His deep blue eyes -she hadn’t noticed them the first time they’d met- following her quite intensely. Jemma suddenly felt flustered and reached out to take a sip of water from her glass. She shook her head lightly and turned back to Skye. “He’s my Hunter,” she said by way of explaining, and it took her longer than it necessarily would to notice that what she had said really didn’t make any sense. “Not my Hunter, I mean it’s not like he hunts for me or anything,” Jemma tried to laugh it off, but cringed at her own explanation. What the hell was wrong with her? Hunter was looking at her like she was crazy, and Skye was staring at her with amusement.

She didn’t try to look at how Fitz was watching her.

“He is a friend. Bobbi’s ex-husband,” she added, noting that that bit of information would mean something to Fitz, but not so much to Skye. “I got to keep both of them after the divorce,” she finished lamely.

Skye smiled fondly at her, before gesturing to Fitz. “The big guy and I are here to get some food. But it was really nice seeing you outside of work. We should do something some time, go out for a drink or whatever?” she asked, and Jemma was still hung up on her referring to Fitz as the “big guy”, when he so clearly wasn’t, but she recovered quickly and smiled at Skye.

“We really should, yes,” she answered earnestly.

“Cool then, I’ll see you Monday, maybe. Bye, guys!” she started walking away, but Fitz stayed put. He looked at her for a few moments before turning back to Hunter. “It was really nice to meet you.”

“You too, man.”

“Nice to see you again, Jemma,” he said, and he was looking at her shyly, not at all like before, and it somehow made her feel more flustered. He was really quite handsome, if she was being honest with herself, all blue eyes and disheveled stubble. Not like the kind of guy she usually went for. Not that she was thinking about going after Fitz.

“Yeah, you too,” she finally answered and Fitz took that as his cue to leave. Hunter continued eating in silence, but once Skye and Fitz had gotten their food and had successfully left the restaurant, he looked at Jemma with a smirk on his face.

“Smooth, Jemma Simmons, smooth.”

“Don’t know what you are talking about,” she said, although she knew, of course she knew.

“ _Oh, it’s not like he hunts for me_ …”

“Oh, shut up,” she said, but couldn’t help laughing along with him.

 

_iii_

Fitz was tired. He had spent four hours on a meeting with a new potential buyer, then skipped lunch to make a deadline for a project he was supposed to hand in, spent a couple hours brainstorming with a fellow engineer about a new project (which had been futile, the guy could not, even when he had tried and Fitz had been patient, keep up with him) and then he had a meeting via Skype with a guy he had previously work with before, but they just didn’t seem to be clicking today.

He was currently sitting at a Starbucks near his flat, having also missed dinner, nursing a horrible tasting coffee and trying to stay awake. He kept a notebook open at the table while he scribbled some ideas going through his mind.

“Fitz?”

Fitz was brought out of his own musing by a voice he already recognized all too well for having heard it on such few occasions. He looked up to see Jemma Simmons smiling at him, also looking tired, but looking much better than he probably did. He stood up when they made eye contact, and stayed like that, looking uncomfortable and awkward for a few painful moments. “Oh, Jemma, hi, hey.”

“How are you?” she asked him, never breaking eye contact.

“Fine, how are you?”

“I’m great.” A moment of silence and then, “You look tired.” She instantly shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude or…”

He cut her off, “No, You are not being rude at all.” He scratched the back of his neck and sat down, gesturing for her to take the sit opposite him. She did.

“It’s been a long day. Part of a sort of long week. I figured if I came here instead of my place then there would be less of a chance of falling sleep. I have a big meeting tomorrow and I still don’t have the basics of what I’m going to be talking about.”

“I know what you mean. I’m waiting for some tests to be ready. Figured something to eat may help.”

“Working this late, you are a workaholic too, then?”

“It would seem that’s the case, yes. I really do love my job.” They stayed in silence, and Fitz fidgeted with the pen he’d been using to write on his notebook. “Is that what you are planning on saying tomorrow?” Jemma asked him curiously.

“Oh, no. That’s, ah, sort of an idea I have, something I’ve been working on during my free time. More of a personal project.” He paused, trying to figure out if he should offer more information. Since she had asked, maybe she was interested. “It’s a prototype for a gun. A non-lethal one.”

“Can I see it?”

“Yes, please do. It’s a very rough idea, really.”

She took the notebook and examined his work very slowly. Fitz was suddenly very nervous. He was never keen on letting other people check out his work, much less when it was just an idea, very far from being a reality.

“Have you considered working with dendrotoxins?” she asked, giving him the notebook back.

“I haven’t, no.”

“It may be exactly what you are looking for. I mean, you still have a long way with the prototype, but you should consider it. I’ve done some work with dendrotoxins before, I actually published a paper on it, if you are interested. Plus, I wouldn’t mind consulting for you.”

“That would actually be fantastic. Maybe it could be a sort of collaboration…”

Jemma’s phone beeped and she stood up in a rush. “Oh, sorry, the tests are ready, I need to get back to the lab right now. Look at that, I didn’t even get any food. But, hey, let me know if you need any help! Bye, Fitz!”

She was gone in a minute, and Fitz happiness at her offer to help him vanished just as quickly when he realized she hadn’t given him any sort of contact information. Sure, he knew where she worked. And Skye probably had at least her email account, but wouldn’t it be creepy for him to just show up at her work?

He sighed and went back to his coffee, which was now, on top of bad, very cold. Maybe she was just being nice, not expecting him to take her up on her offer. But she had just given him a possibility that had totally changed his perspective. He was sure they could achieve so much more if they sat down to work together at an appropriate working space. He didn’t want to let the opportunity pass him by, but again, it seemed like he may have to.

 

_iv_

“Okay, antivirus are all set.”

“Thank you, Skye.”

It was almost lunchtime, and Skye had been working on the computers at Jemma’s lab for the past hour. Jemma had involuntary slowed down on her work, having Skye around talking to her all the time proving to be quite a distraction.

“So, how good are you at singing?” Skye asked her suddenly. Jemma was slowly realizing Skye was one for random questions at random times.

“I am very bad, why do you ask?” Jemma replied, collecting her belongings and making her way towards the exit, Skye following behind.

“I know this bar, karaoke nights on Thursdays, thought it may be fun. What do you say, you up for the challenge?”

“I guess I could be convinced, yes,” Jemma replied as they both made their way towards the elevator.

“Awesome. You know, you can bring someone if you want. Maybe a boyfriend?” Skye said with that voice that Jemma now recognized too well. It was part teasing, part trying to fish information out of her.

“No boyfriend, but maybe I’ll ask Bobbi. Make it a ladies’ night. I want you two to meet. You’ll really like her, I reckon,” Jemma answered as they entered the elevator. Skye pressed the button to take them to the ground floor.

“Any friend of Jemma Simmons is a friend of mine,” Skye said, throwing a wink her way.

“I’m heading for lunch, you want to join me?” Jemma asked as they made their way out of the elevator.

“I’m actually meeting Fitz for lunch, so maybe you can join us?”

“Oh, no, I wouldn’t want to intrude.” Jemma hadn’t asked Skye, but ever since she had run into Skye and Fitz at the Chinese restaurant, she had been wondering what kind of relationship they had. She had spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about it, if she was being honest. And when she’d run into him at the coffee shop, it hadn’t seem appropriated to ask him at all.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I mean, I love Fitz, but I could do with a little more of girl presence in my life, trust me.”

Well, that answered it for her.

“So, are you two…I mean, you guys had been together long?” Jemma asked, trying to sound casual.

“Oh my God, ew. Ew, ew, ew, Jemma Simmons. Fitz and I are just friends, thank you very much. He’s kind of like my best friend, but I would never ever go there. Gross. I mean…”

But Skye stopped abruptly, her whole expression changing from one to disgust to something else entirely, something that Jemma couldn’t decipher.

“Not that I think Fitz is gross. Because he is not. He is a great catch, and, if you must know, he is very single. But not because there’s something wrong with him. His brain works way faster than anyone else’s. But maybe not yours, right? You are crazy smart…”

But Jemma didn’t catch what else Sky was saying because there was the man himself, Fitz, standing in the middle of the entrance hall, looking like he had been waiting for a while.

“Hello Fitz,” Jemma said louder than necessarily, hoping Skye would shut up so Fitz wouldn’t figure out they were talking about him. 

“Jemma, hi. Skye.”

“Jemma is joining us for lunch. Isn’t that great?” Skye told Fitz happily, ignoring the fact that Jemma hadn’t technically agreed to join them.

“Yeah, sure.” Well, he certainly didn’t sound very happy about it. Had she misinterpreted their last interaction? Maybe she had, as he hadn’t attempted to contact her at all. But he had seemed excited when she had shared her input on his work. People were never Jemma’s strong suit, but she was definitely surprised at Fitz’s standoffish attitude.

They made their way to the restaurant in silence, or at least, Jemma and Fitz did. Skye kept blabbing on and on, but Jemma couldn’t tell what she was on about.

“So, I’m gonna stop by the loo,” Skye announced once they were sited. “You guys order away, I’d like a Caesar salad with fries, please.”

Jemma nodded at Skye and waited for her to be gone. Then she turned to Fitz, hoping to find out what his problem was.

“Have you given any thought to what we talked about last week?” she asked him, deciding to cut right to the chase. He looked surprised by her question. He scratched the back of his head and fiddled in his sit before answering.

“Yes, actually, I did. I, uh, found your paper online. Very impressive. I really think it may just be what I need.”

“Oh, good”, she replied, surprised at his answer. “I mean, I didn’t mean to be pushy about it, and then I didn’t hear anything from you and I thought…”

“You never gave me your number, or email, I thought perhaps…”

“…I was in a hurry, but you know where I work, and that Skye and I are friends, so…”

“…I didn’t want to seem like a creep.”

Well, that made sense, she supposed.

“Okay then, we’ll chalk that one up to lack of communication. Here,” she said, reaching for his phone, which he had left on the table, and putting her contact info into it.

“There you go, feel free to call me anytime. And we can discuss science.”

_Discuss science_ , thank God Hunter wasn’t around, or else he would never let that go. Fitz, on the other hand, just smiled at her, that shy smile that she already liked so much.

“You guys ordered yet?” Skye asked as she loudly took her seat next to Jemma.

“No,” they both said answered in unison. Skye looked at them with amusement.

“Well, come on then, we are losing precious lunch time.”

 

_v_

“Okay, I don’t want you to feel like this was a set-up, because it really wasn’t.”

Fitz was already regretting having come out tonight, but at the word “set-up”, all the alarms on his head went off.

“What are you talking about?”

“I invited Jemma,” Skye replied, to her credit, looking apologetic. “Way before I convinced you to come, mind you. I just thought it may be fun for all of us to spend some time together. Fun time.”

“Then why didn’t you tell me she was coming?”

“Because I know you, dude. You would’ve gotten all weird and awkward and said no.”

She was right, of course, but still, he felt betrayed.

“Listen,” Skye started again, “I think Jemma is kind of amazing. And I believe you feel the same way. You spent all lunch the other day staring at her like she was the sun. And I couldn’t even get half the shit you guys were talking about. And don’t even get me started on that weird thing you guys did where you talked all over each other but still made sense? I just think that she is a nice lady, with similar interests as you and it could be nice for you two to spend time together. You looked really exited the other day, so, really, this can’t hurt at all.”

He _was_ looking forward to spending time together with Jemma, that was true, but he still wasn’t sure she would be willing. At least not in this kind of environment. After lunch two days ago, he was definitely sure she wanted to be involved in his work. And honestly, that was more than what he was expecting to get. He was about to tell Skye exactly that, but he only managed to open his mouth before she interrupted him.

“Okay, no time for that, here she comes.”

And there she was. Jemma Simmons, looking as lovely as ever. He was wearing a beautiful dress, and Fitz couldn’t describe it to save his life, but she just looked like she belonged in it.

“Hey guys!” she said, walking towards them. She didn’t seem surprised to see him. Had Skye told her he would be there?

“Hey!” Skye replied. Fitz just then noticed that she wasn’t alone. She was with that guy, he couldn’t remember his name, but it was that guy who was definitely not her boyfriend, so that was good.

“I thought you were bringing Bobbi?”

“Oh, she couldn’t make it, so I invited this one instead.”

“I was your second choice?” Hunter, Fitz now remembered it was his name, was asking indignantly. Jemma had said something about him “not hunting for her” and he had no idea what she had been on about, but damn, she was adorable. God, he had acted like such a weirdo that day.

Fitz realized he hadn’t said a single word since their companions had arrived, but then he was distracted by Jemma, who was making a weird face and looking over his shoulder. “Oh, bloody hell,” he heard her say, and when he turned around to see what was causing that reaction on her, she saw a tall, blonde woman who he recognized as Bobbi making her way towards them.

“Jemma, hey,” she said when she reached them.

“Bobbi! You said you couldn’t make it,” Jemma whispered to her, which was ridiculous, because everyone was listening to them anyway.

“I couldn’t. But then I could. Figured I could surprise you here. Which I’m guessing I did,” she said, looking at Hunter.

“I can’t leave…” Hunter started, but Bobbi interrupted.

“Please, don’t. We can manage one night out with friends, we are adults, aren’t we?”

“We are.”

They smiled tightly at each other and Jemma went to introduce Bobbi to Skye. Fitz took the opportunity to sneak a glance at Hunter, who looked deeply uncomfortable. Well, at least there were two of them.

However, almost three hours, two beers, and zero songs sung by him later, Fitz wasn’t feeling uncomfortable anymore. He was making his way from the restroom sporting a really good mood. True to their word, Hunter and Bobbi had been behaving like true adults. The girls had partaken in an animated but very off-key reedition of _Dancing Queen_ and Hunter had taken the stage to absolutely destroy a Bon Jovi song. Everyone was having an overall good time, and Fitz had spent a large part of the evening talking to Jemma.

She was so interesting and they just clicked. He never clicked with anyone. Not like he was clicking with her. They had been discussing work related topics, but they had also approached personal subjects: his childhood, her parents, how he met Skye, why she had come to America. He had made her laugh on more than a few occasions, and it was absolutely his new favorite sound in the world. Not even the crappy lightning, the bad singing or the fact that the bar was not exactly the best spot to have such intimate conversations, even less so with their friends around, had stopped them from talking like they’d known each other for years.

Making his way towards their table, he spotted Jemma sitting by herself.

“Did everyone leave?”

“Bobbie and Hunter decided to call it a night. They left together, actually, which I guess won’t end well,” she informed him, a smile playing at her lips, despite her grim prediction.

“They have a weird relationship, I suppose?”

“They love each other, but have trouble making it work. It’s a shame, really.”

“And what about Skye?”

“She went to choose a song. _Show stopping number_ , she said. I reckon she’s had a bit too much to drink.”

Fitz supposed he agreed with her. Looking down to her empty bottle of beer, he asked Jemma, “Do you want another drink?”

“Okay.”

“Beer?”

“Beer.”

He made his way to the bar, now less empty than it had been early. He ordered two beers and some fries, because Jemma had been the only one that hadn’t eaten anything at all, and he didn’t want her to continue drinking with an empty stomach. As he made his way back to Jemma, he heard before he saw Skye singing a song he did not recognize. She was absolutely butchering it.

“There you go, miss. Also, I brought you some fries, because I noticed you hadn’t eaten all night, and that can’t be good for you, can’t it?” he asked, depositing the items in front of her.

She looked at him with a sort of tender expression on her face, and _wow_. He could look at her looking at him that way for the rest of his life.

He liked her.

That was now a fact that he wasn’t going to pretend wasn’t true. He just wanted to talk to her all the time. He never ever wanted to talk to people. She was the smartest person he had ever met, and maybe it was the beers, or maybe the look on her face, but he decided to tell her exactly that.

“You are the smartest person I have ever met.”

She was caught off-guard by his comment, but he could see her cheeks turning pink even in the dim light of the bar. She smiled shyly at him, looking back at her fries, and then, slowly, very slowly, back at him. “Didn’t you mention meeting Christopher Langan once?” she asked him, bringing back something he had told her just a few hours ago.

“Smarter than him for sure,” he said, fully convinced of what he was saying. “And prettier, too.”

He should’ve panicked at his admission, but instead, he couldn’t stop looking into her eyes. Her beautiful, big, full of wonder, eyes. She was looking back at him with a serious expression, but she didn’t look mad or offended. He couldn’t quite tell what it meant, but he was sure it was not something bad. Fitz didn’t want to look away, but then her gaze shifted and she was looking at his lips. He licked them as a reflex, and his eyes too chased her lips. He slowly leaned in, slowly enough that she could see him coming, in case he wanted to draw back. He never got to find out what she would have done, because Skye came barreling towards them, yelling.

“That was awesome guys, wasn’t it awesome?” she threw her arms around Jemma and grinned at Fitz. “I rock at this.”

The spell broken between him and Jemma, Fitz could now see just how much Skye had drank. “You rock, yes. But how about we call it a night?”

“Boo, you are boring Leopold!”

Jemma looked at him with amusement and mouthed _Leopold?,_ but he shrugged and rolled his eyes. That was one thing he hadn’t shared with Jemma. “I know, I know, I am super boring,” he said, talking to Skye, “But we are going any way.”

“Are you coming with us?” she asked Jemma, arms still around her shoulders.

“Yes, we can all share a cab, right?”

“Of course,” Fitz said, now sure he would share anything in the world Jemma Simmons wanted him to.

 

_vi_

“Do you remember last week?” Jemma asked Bobbi. They were having coffee at the Starbucks close to Jemma’s work. The coffee was quite terrible, really.

“Like, in general? Of course I do, Jemma.”

“I mean when we went to that karaoke bar. And then you and Hunter left together?”

“I thought we weren’t talking about that.” That was the first thing that Bobbi had told her the morning after the bar, before Jemma even tried to ask.

“That’s what you get for getting sassy with me.”

Bobbi rolled her eyes but gestured for Jemma to continue.

“What did you think of Fitz?” she asked, trying to sound as nonchalant as she could manage. “I mean, I guess you had met him before, but you know, having spent more time with him. You are good at reading people.”

“I can’t believe Hunter was right about this one.”

“What do you mean?”

“He mentioned that you had had a total meltdown the other day when you guys were having lunch and Fitz showed up. He thought it was adorable.”

“Really? And when did he share that story with you? Last week while you…”

“Don’t finish that sentence. We are not talking about that. It was an error in judgment. Back to you, now. What is the deal with this Fitz character?”

Jemma took a big breath, putting her hands in the table and looked at Bobbi in the eye as she prepared to say what she had known since that night. “I like him,” she admitted, but Bobbi’s expression wasn’t at all one of surprise, which, considering she and Hunter had been talking about it, made total sense.

“Well, that was anticlimactic. Totally knew it. Go for it, then.”

“It’s not that simple. I,” Jemma struggled to find her words. She wasn’t very good at talking about her feelings. “I wouldn’t know how to go about it.”

“You’ve dated tons of guys. What do you not know?”

“I’ve always dated guys that were, you know…”

“Hot but dumb?”

“Not all of them were dumb!” Jemma replied, although, Bobbi did have a point.

“Well, but they weren’t brilliant either.”

“The thing is, it was always easy to date guys like that. I knew it wouldn’t lead to anything more serious. But Fitz is not like those guys.”

“Aww, so you could see your relationship with him leading somewhere?”

“Maybe.”

“That is great Jemma. No, really, this is fantastic. You’ve never thought like that about any other guy. You can’t let it pass you just because you are scared. Listen to me. I see why you may not think I am the best to give any kind of love related advice.  I keep going back to my ex-husband, because yes, it has happened more than once. There’s a really big chance I’m still in love with him. But we can’t make it work because we can’t communicate. So start there, communicate. Tell him how you feel. Talk to him. Let him tell you what to think. Don’t assume things.”

“I’ll think about it?”

“I guess that’s a start.”

They went back to their coffee, and Bobbi told Jemma all about this party she was planning on throwing next month. But Jemma couldn’t really concentrate, her thoughts still with Fitz. She had never met anyone quite like him. They had this different sort of chemistry. It was like she could spend all of the time listening to him talk. And then, that night at the bar, she had really wanted to kiss him. She still did.

She was still thinking about kissing him, when someone coming through the door got her attention. It was Fitz. Of course it was. He was looking tired again, his shirt all rumpled and his short, blondish hair a mess. Honestly, he looked more attractive than ever.

“Oh bloody hell. He’s here. Fitz is here,” Jemma told Bobbi, while she grabbed her phone and pretended to be texting someone, angling her head slightly to the right, so her hair could cover most of her face.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“Hiding. I forgot to mention we sort of had a moment last week. And I’m going to get really weird if he comes over now. I am not prepared yet.”

“Stop,” Bobbie said, snatching Jemma’s phone from her hands. “Jemma, you are the smartest person I know. This is ridiculous. You are an adult. You are more than capable of handling this kind of situation. We clear?” she said, using the same tone she sometimes used when she was annoyed with Hunter. When Jemma nodded, Bobbi added, “I am going to wave at him now. He’s gonna come over. And you will be cool.”

Just as she had explained, Bobbi raised her left hand and waved at Fitz, who was just making his way to the counter. “Fitz, hey!”

“Oh, hello,” Fitz said, approaching them slowly.

“Hi, Fitz,” Jemma said, giving him a small smile, which he returned.

“Look at that,” Bobbie said, looking at her watch. “I have to get back to work. Yes. Gotta run. Call me later?” Jemma felt herself blush at Bobbi’s lack of subtly. She was very good at being discreet, so Jemma knew that this display was on purpose.

“Bye Fitz,” Bobbi threw over her shoulder as she left them alone. Jemma looked at Fitz, who was still standing by her table, and gestured to the chair that Bobbi had vacated.

“You want to take a sit?”

“Sure.”

“Do you…?” Jemma started at the same time that Fitz went “Would you…?”

They laughed quietly, and then Fitz nodded at Jemma to indicate her she should go first.

“Don’t you think it’s funny how we keep running into each other?” Jemma asked, having no idea where that have come from. It was not at all what she had meant to say.

“Almost like the universe wants us to meet, right?” Fitz said, and it looked like he wanted to say something else, so Jemma waited for him to do so. “I want us to meet,” he said a few moments later, his voice soft and quiet.

Jemma felt her cheeks burning up at his implications, but then he was making a weird face and shaking his head. “I mean, I was just about to call you. About the gun,” he added.

“The gun, yes,” Jemma said, and she was sure she had done a terrible job at hiding her disappointment, which really wasn’t fair. She _was_ looking forward to working with him.

“I wanted to know if you wanted to maybe work on it during the weekend,” he asked.

“Saturday?”

“Sounds good. There’s this lab I work at sometimes, we can meet there. I could text you the address later.”

“That sounds perfect”, Jemma replied, giving him a smile. “I think we are going to work really well together.”

“I agree”, he said, and again it looked like he had something else to say. He tapped his fingers nervously against the table, biting his lip lightly. That only drew Jemma’s attention to his lips and she was so distracted by it that she barely heard what he said next. “I thought that maybe, after work, we could, uh, have dinner?”

“Dinner?”

“Yeas, dinner. Somewhere nice?”

Dinner. Somewhere nice. That sounded like a date. “That sounds lovely, yes,” she answered, her smile big.

“Great. It’s a date, then.”

 

_vii_

“Sorry I’m late,” Jemma said as she approached the steps that led to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She was supposed to meet Fitz there ten minutes ago, but had been held up at a work meeting.  

“Don’t worry about it, I just got here myself.”

This was officially their third date. They had gone to dinner on Saturday, after spending the afternoon working together, in the most stimulating working session Jemma had ever taken a part of. Fitz had chosen a beautiful restaurant, nice, but not too fancy, and they had spent a wonderful evening together. Talking to him was so easy, but at the same time, it felt like he kept her on her toes. She wasn’t used to that. Still, when Fitz had walked her to her place, she had been disappointed when he hadn’t tried to kiss her. The memory of his breath on her lips that night at the bar still haunted her, and she was sure he was going to make a move. But he hadn’t.

Then, on Tuesday, Fitz had picked her up after work and they had gone to the aquarium. They had had a lot of fun there, and Fitz proved to be more of a goofball than she had anticipated. But still, no kiss at the end of the date.

And now, here they were, Friday afternoon, standing at the steps of the MET. Jemma thought back at what she had discussed with Bobbi ten days ago. _Communication_. Right.

“Fitz.”

“Yes.”

“I really like you,” she said, avoiding his eyes.

“You do?” he asked, and he sounded beautifully breathless.

“Yes.”, she replied, and then she added, for good measure, “in a romantical kind of way.”

“You do?” he asked again.

“Yes, why would I keep going out on dates with you if I didn’t? Do you? Like me?”

“God, yes, Jemma. So much,” Fitz said, and her smile widened.

“Great. I am going to kiss you now, so unless you don’t want me too, you need to…”

But she didn’t get to finish her sentence, because Fitz had crashed his lips against hers. He kissed her softly, hands resting lightly on her waist. That tentative touch, his smell all around her, it was the best kiss of her life. But she wanted more. She pushed against him, kissing him harder. His hands tightened on her waist, and he parted his lips for her. Their tongues met, and Jemma felt warm all over. She placed her hand on the back of his neck to bring him closer, but then she remembered where they were, and, feeling suddenly bashful, she pulled away, still holding onto him.

“You know, the museum is going to be here tomorrow. And the day after that, and the day after that,” Jemma told him, leaning her forehead against his.

“Is it?” he asked her, still looking a little dazzled.

“Yes. So, I say maybe we ditch our plans and go back to my place.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Fitz smile got impossibly bigger and he leaned in to kiss her cheek tenderly. “See, smartest person I’ve ever met,” he whispered into her ear, and she couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her.

Okay, then.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even know what this is. Thanks for reading!


End file.
